“Where Your Treasure Is, There Also Will Your Heart Be.” (Luke 12:34)
Homily of His Excellency Bishop Nabil AlAndary
The original Arabic article can be read HERE.
St Sharbel Statue at St. Sharbel's Shrine in Annaya, Lebanon. Image by Naanouh Productions.
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Introduction
From Bekaakafra, the towering town overlooking the Holy Valley, to Hardin, Kfifan, and Jrabta, and then to Annaya, the surface of holiness grows and develops. From Sharbel, the student, to Nimatullah, the teacher, and Rafka, the Sixth Wound and Apostle of Suffering; from the hermits of Qannubine to all the blessed and the saints emerged a certain method and a good exemplar. For “the father is known through his son,” and “it is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher” (Matt. 10:25). This is the history of the foundations of a counter-cultural movement that resulted in the spiritual enlightenment that scattered the darkness of a difficult era and was followed by a spiritual awakening and renaissance. This renaissance moved beyond the monastic community and local geography, spreading the fragrance of holiness over the whole world and witnessing that Lebanon – the country-mission – is a land of holiness and hope to which pilgrims from every place flock and a shrine from whose saints pilgrims seek blessings and intercession and where they fulfill their vows. |
Body
1- On this holy evening, as we celebrate the Divine Liturgy with the Family of Saint Sharbel, let us meditate together on a deep mystery which is at the heart of our Christian existence and at the foundation of the guidelines of this Family (and of the life of every Christian), distinguished by its call to discipleship, radicality, and witness. Imitating Christ and the commitment to evangelical radicality are the foundations and rules of Christian living, for “it is only by living virtuously that we connect to God and walk the path of filiation to God” (A New Hope for Lebanon, 52). This is especially because, in the Instrumentum laboris of this apostolic exhortation, His Holiness the Pope calls Eastern Churches to draw from the sound sources of early monasticism in order to recover the fervor of their spiritual beginnings.
The Gospel we just heard offers us two main ideas to meditate upon:
a. The axes of evangelical radicality
b. The grounds for this radicality
2- The term “radicality” may not have been commonly used in biblical or theological circles before the middle of the twentieth century, but it was proffered by theologians like Bultmann, Brown, Schnakenberg, Pope Paul VI, and others.
For those who commit to an evangelical life, the concepts and contents, as well as the areas of application, of this radicality are taken from the basic rules of the Gospel and the methods and lifestyles of the early Christian community.
3- Principal Axes of Evangelical Radicality
a- Discipleship to Christ
Whoever wants to imitate Christ and be His disciple – especially we, the children of the New Testament and of the Pascal journey – must deny himself, carry the Cross, and follow Him. This means facing challenges, obstacles, divisions, and persecutions until death. Following in the footsteps of Christ requires leaving one’s family, property, and perhaps even job. Christ urges His disciples to embrace renunciation: “Do not take sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or walking stick.” He urges them to rely on God and to welcome those who carry to them the New Proclamation.
b- Radicality of Love
Love of neighbor rests on mirroring God’s tenderness and compassion in a life of reconciliation, forgiveness, shunning hurtful rhetoric, prejudice, and judgmentalism (“Do not judge, lest you be judged”). This love overcomes the obstacles of enmity – including “sibling rivalry” –, for serious, radical love follows the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the meek, the merciful, and those who work for peace, for they will be called the Children of God, inherit the earth, and be shown mercy.” Within a community, where there are communal structures of power and responsibilities, true greatness and dignity consist in humility and service: “The weak and little one will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven, and the Son of Man came to serve and not to be served.”
c- Humility and Lack of Pretentiousness
“Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who empty themselves will be filled. Only those pure of heart will see God. Conversely, those who have made themselves idle slaves––despite their good actions and charitable efforts, and even if they heed the call to help of the poor and the weak––lest they have meekness and humility of heart, they cannot be faithful to the Savior who took on the image of a servant and spilled his precious blood to redeem and save us. The One who makes His sun rise on the bad and the good calls us to voluntary and full self-effacement in the example of John the Baptist who had to diminish and introduce the Lamb of God, and not to eclipse Him.
d- Sharing
Even though possessions are a threat to embracing evangelical poverty, the Gospel does not make renunciation an end to itself, but it warns against slavery to money. The invitation to the rich man to “sell your possessions and give to the poor, then come, follow me” is an invitation to giving and sharing. The Acts of the Apostles portrays how early Christians strove to apply and live out this evangelical ideal, but, at the same time, it shows the community’s keenness and concern for fulfilling the needs of the poor and getting justice for the disadvantaged in a spirit of equity and fraternal sharing.
4- Grounds for Evangelical Radicality
Walking the path of the Gospel requires a total commitment to Jesus and His teachings, but accepting this radicality is not realized automatically, easily, or arbitrarily. It rests on several grounds such as belonging to Christ, modeling God’s mercy, the eschatological context, and other miscellaneous grounds.
a- For Christ
When Christ calls His disciples to be “in His company,” he is really inviting them to come to Him, befriend Him, and share His life, mission, and destiny; to leave their father, mother, brothers and sisters in order to be worthy of Him; to carry the Cross and follow Him, to lay down his life for His sake. These are the requirements of the radical option for Christ. It is a state of unconditional renunciation and choosing Jesus over all else.
b- Modeling God’s Mercy
Why would people humble themselves and become servants? Why would they share their possessions with the needy? Why would they forsake anger and vengeance? Why would they be loving, meek, and peace-loving? All these questions find an answer in incentives, such as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” But the main incentive is what the evangelist Luke wrote: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Loving one’s neighbor with God’s love has no other motivation than love itself: “Be perfect, just as your Father is perfect.”
c- The Eschatological Context
“Time has come, and the Kingdom of God is near.” If we respond to God’s calling, all these radical requirements are a “temporary morality” awaiting the Second Coming. “Those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away” (1 Cor 7:31), and “Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
d- Other grounds
In addition to the above-mentioned, these radical commitments seem to be:
- A condition for entering eternal life or the Kingdom: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna” (Matt. 5:29).
- An essential element of the disciple’s life of perfection: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
- A reward: “Your Father who sees in secret will repay you,” for whatever we leave for Christ’s sake we receive in eternal life.
Last but not least, being commissioned to preach and witness requires activating apostolic activity and overcoming its obstacles: “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals…”
Conclusion
Lord, you have given us the grace of this holy calling, the radical commitment to your Gospel, grant us to fight the good fight, to vanquish in you, accomplish your will, and to witness to you by being a sign in this era, as we await your imminent Kingdom. Amen!
Antoine Nabil AlAndary
Patriarchal Vicar General for the region of Jounieh, Lebanon
1- On this holy evening, as we celebrate the Divine Liturgy with the Family of Saint Sharbel, let us meditate together on a deep mystery which is at the heart of our Christian existence and at the foundation of the guidelines of this Family (and of the life of every Christian), distinguished by its call to discipleship, radicality, and witness. Imitating Christ and the commitment to evangelical radicality are the foundations and rules of Christian living, for “it is only by living virtuously that we connect to God and walk the path of filiation to God” (A New Hope for Lebanon, 52). This is especially because, in the Instrumentum laboris of this apostolic exhortation, His Holiness the Pope calls Eastern Churches to draw from the sound sources of early monasticism in order to recover the fervor of their spiritual beginnings.
The Gospel we just heard offers us two main ideas to meditate upon:
a. The axes of evangelical radicality
b. The grounds for this radicality
2- The term “radicality” may not have been commonly used in biblical or theological circles before the middle of the twentieth century, but it was proffered by theologians like Bultmann, Brown, Schnakenberg, Pope Paul VI, and others.
For those who commit to an evangelical life, the concepts and contents, as well as the areas of application, of this radicality are taken from the basic rules of the Gospel and the methods and lifestyles of the early Christian community.
3- Principal Axes of Evangelical Radicality
a- Discipleship to Christ
Whoever wants to imitate Christ and be His disciple – especially we, the children of the New Testament and of the Pascal journey – must deny himself, carry the Cross, and follow Him. This means facing challenges, obstacles, divisions, and persecutions until death. Following in the footsteps of Christ requires leaving one’s family, property, and perhaps even job. Christ urges His disciples to embrace renunciation: “Do not take sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or walking stick.” He urges them to rely on God and to welcome those who carry to them the New Proclamation.
b- Radicality of Love
Love of neighbor rests on mirroring God’s tenderness and compassion in a life of reconciliation, forgiveness, shunning hurtful rhetoric, prejudice, and judgmentalism (“Do not judge, lest you be judged”). This love overcomes the obstacles of enmity – including “sibling rivalry” –, for serious, radical love follows the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the meek, the merciful, and those who work for peace, for they will be called the Children of God, inherit the earth, and be shown mercy.” Within a community, where there are communal structures of power and responsibilities, true greatness and dignity consist in humility and service: “The weak and little one will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven, and the Son of Man came to serve and not to be served.”
c- Humility and Lack of Pretentiousness
“Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who empty themselves will be filled. Only those pure of heart will see God. Conversely, those who have made themselves idle slaves––despite their good actions and charitable efforts, and even if they heed the call to help of the poor and the weak––lest they have meekness and humility of heart, they cannot be faithful to the Savior who took on the image of a servant and spilled his precious blood to redeem and save us. The One who makes His sun rise on the bad and the good calls us to voluntary and full self-effacement in the example of John the Baptist who had to diminish and introduce the Lamb of God, and not to eclipse Him.
d- Sharing
Even though possessions are a threat to embracing evangelical poverty, the Gospel does not make renunciation an end to itself, but it warns against slavery to money. The invitation to the rich man to “sell your possessions and give to the poor, then come, follow me” is an invitation to giving and sharing. The Acts of the Apostles portrays how early Christians strove to apply and live out this evangelical ideal, but, at the same time, it shows the community’s keenness and concern for fulfilling the needs of the poor and getting justice for the disadvantaged in a spirit of equity and fraternal sharing.
4- Grounds for Evangelical Radicality
Walking the path of the Gospel requires a total commitment to Jesus and His teachings, but accepting this radicality is not realized automatically, easily, or arbitrarily. It rests on several grounds such as belonging to Christ, modeling God’s mercy, the eschatological context, and other miscellaneous grounds.
a- For Christ
When Christ calls His disciples to be “in His company,” he is really inviting them to come to Him, befriend Him, and share His life, mission, and destiny; to leave their father, mother, brothers and sisters in order to be worthy of Him; to carry the Cross and follow Him, to lay down his life for His sake. These are the requirements of the radical option for Christ. It is a state of unconditional renunciation and choosing Jesus over all else.
b- Modeling God’s Mercy
Why would people humble themselves and become servants? Why would they share their possessions with the needy? Why would they forsake anger and vengeance? Why would they be loving, meek, and peace-loving? All these questions find an answer in incentives, such as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” But the main incentive is what the evangelist Luke wrote: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Loving one’s neighbor with God’s love has no other motivation than love itself: “Be perfect, just as your Father is perfect.”
c- The Eschatological Context
“Time has come, and the Kingdom of God is near.” If we respond to God’s calling, all these radical requirements are a “temporary morality” awaiting the Second Coming. “Those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away” (1 Cor 7:31), and “Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
d- Other grounds
In addition to the above-mentioned, these radical commitments seem to be:
- A condition for entering eternal life or the Kingdom: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna” (Matt. 5:29).
- An essential element of the disciple’s life of perfection: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
- A reward: “Your Father who sees in secret will repay you,” for whatever we leave for Christ’s sake we receive in eternal life.
Last but not least, being commissioned to preach and witness requires activating apostolic activity and overcoming its obstacles: “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals…”
Conclusion
Lord, you have given us the grace of this holy calling, the radical commitment to your Gospel, grant us to fight the good fight, to vanquish in you, accomplish your will, and to witness to you by being a sign in this era, as we await your imminent Kingdom. Amen!
Antoine Nabil AlAndary
Patriarchal Vicar General for the region of Jounieh, Lebanon
